There and Back Again
by Marvelbear
Summary: Five friends, five geniuses, find themselves thrown back in time during a last ditch effort to stop Madara and the Juubi. Using their knowledge of the future, will they save everything they lost...or will they make it worse?
1. Chapter 1

**There and Back Again**

 **Disclaimer: Mangabear does not own Naruto.**

* * *

 _Prologue: **There and Back**_ **Again**

* * *

It was gone.

There was nothing left. His village. His home. It was all gone with one strike.

Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto looked around. To his left, his friend, Yamanaka-Uchiha Itachi stood bravely, his Mangekyou Sharingan blazing as he helped Hatake-Senju Tsuyoshi upright. To his right, Hyuuga-Inuzuka Neji struggled to his feet as Nara-Kurama Shikamaru was one one knee, glaring up at their opponents. His best friends. His team…

Right beside him was his sister, Natsumi. She was in full Bijuu mode and staring at the scene in front of her in tears. Naruto turned his attention back to his opponents. Madara and Sasuke, Itachi's little brother, stood on the head of a giant monster with one big eye and ten flowing tails. The incomplete Juubi. On the other side was a massive army of Nukenin and Samurai led by one woman. She was Natsumi's age with long pink hair and piercing green eyes. Her face, which had once been beautiful, was marred with lichtenberg figures, mainly around her eyes and forehead. Her left cheek was completely gone, revealing pearly white teeth, giving the girl the illusion of a permanent grin on one side of her face.

Madara chuckled darkly. "Resistance is futile," he announced. "You six are the only remaining loyal Konoha Shinobi now. You can still join me, you know?"

"Hardly a tempting offer so we'll pass," Tsuyoshi replied snidely.

Sasuke scoffed. "Do you honestly think you dobes can beat us, let alone that army over there?"

"It's not the army I'm worried about, otouto," Itachi said stoically.

"Besides," Naruto added, "Bubblegum's not here for us."

"Naruto is correct," the pink haired woman replied in a scratchy voice, like she had a major sore throat. "I came here for you, Sasuke. Today, I will have my revenge."

"You could never beat me, Sakura," Sasuke sneered. "What makes you think you can now?"

"Sasuke," Haruno Sakura chided softly. "Unlike your brother and mother, all you other Uchiha think your Sharingan make you invincible. Well…" Her eyes turned black with several green lights swirling around in them… "Today, I show you just how ineffective they truly are! Today, I'll show you TRUE power! The power I spent every waking moment since you tortured me to death creating and perfecting! THIS… IS… POWER! THE **TRUE** MEANING OF PAIN!"

"Please, you two! Please stop this!" Natsumi cried. "T-There's still time for you two to come back! Back to Konoha!"

"Imouto," Naruto turned to his sister. "It's no use."

"NO!" she shouted, shaking her bright red hair. "T-They can! They…"

"Your brother is correct, Natsumi-chan," Sakura said. "There is no turning back. Sasuke has sown his field. Now it is time for him to reap that field." She gave the redhead a sad half-smile, half-grin. "You were always nice to me, Natsumi-chan, even when I wasn't nice to you. I thank you for that. Now, I am going to kill Sasuke for the both of us then we can truly be free of our horrible pasts."

"You two are weak!" Sasuke shouted maniacally. "You two were nothing but stepping stools to help me obtain greater power! You two have made me weak once! I WON'T let that happen again!"

"B-But…"

"Natsumi," Neji spoke up. "I'm sorry but they have made up their minds."

Natsumi sniffled. She didn't want to lose her two best friends but she knew she had a mission to finish. She composed herself and schooled her features into a blank mask.

"These formalities are pointless," Madara drawled out. "If you shall not join me, I'll…"

Suddenly, the ground opened up in front of the Juubi! Shocked, everyone watched as several Ninja shot out of the hole and turned to face the enemies. The final Shinobi to come out of the hole had dark red hair, not unlike the Uzumaki Clansmen, as well as a large gourd on his back as he rode a cloud of sand up.

"Gaara-kun!" Natsumi cried happily.

The Godaime Kazekage landed next to her and she immediately glomped him. "You're alive!"

"Of course," the male redhead's monotone reply came but Naruto could detect some humor in it. "I would not leave my fiancé alone, would I?"

Natsumi blushed a dark red. "Fiancé?" Naruto asked with a hard edge.

Before Natsumi could reprimand her brother, a loud sigh rang out. "Troublesome. Be the overprotective brother later, Naruto. We've got work to do," Shikamaru grumbled.

Naruto grinned at the 'Lazy Genius'. "Sure, sure, whatever." Turning, he glared at Gaara and said, "We _will_ be discussing this later."

Gaara shivered but he did his best to hide it. "Of course."

Then Naruto turned to Madara and smirked. "You wanted to know if we'd join you or not? Well, here's our answer!" The Shinobi all unleashed a powerful roar scream that shook the ground all the way to Iwa and charged.

The fight was agonizingly short. The Shinobi that had survived the initial assault of the Juubi fought against Sakura's large army before they were soon all killed by the Juubi's **Bijuudama** moments into their fight.

Naruto and his team, the teens known as "Team Tensai," were struggling against the Juubi as Gaara and Natsumi took on Madara and Sasuke. Sakura had taken to fighting alongside Gaara in fighting Sasuke and the avenger had already lost an arm to the duo.

Naruto glared at Madara as he got a lucky hit on his sister. "Itachi, I'm really starting to hate your ancestor," he told the 'Prodigal Genius'.

"I am, as well," Itachi said back.

"What should we do?" Neji asked.

Naruto looked to Shikamaru, silently asking him if he had an idea. Shikamaru shook his head and Naruto felt dread. When Shikamaru couldn't come up with a plan, it meant they were screwed over.

 _ **"I think I can help you out, Kit,"**_ a deep, gravelly voice said deep within Naruto's mind.

 _'Well, given our situation, I'm willing to listen, Kurama,'_ Naruto thought.

 _ **"That seal I told you to make? Bring it out and activate it,"**_ the fox Bijuu told him.

 _'And that'll save our skins?'_

 _ **"JUST DO IT, GAKI!"**_ Naruto winced at the volume but quickly shook himself. "Hey, guys. The fuzzball's got a plan. We need to activate that seal he had me make."

"Should we trust him?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"We're losing terribly here. I think we can't afford not to," Neji commented.

"We've got nothing to lose so let's do it," Shikamaru said.

Naruto nodded and pulled out the scroll from his Jounin vest and opened it up. A large and intricate seal appeared. "Okay! Everyone put their hand on the seal and channel your chakra into it!"

The four nodded and soon the five were pouring their chakra into the seal, making it glow a eery red. Madara noticed this and frowned.

"Juubi! Destroy them now!" the Uchiha founder shouted and tried to jump towards them.

"No, you don't, asshole!" Natsumi shouted and roundhouse kicked the madman away. He grunted and flew back a few feet. Natsumi ran towards the seal to help her brother as Gaara and Sakura did the same after they had killed Sasuke.

Suddenly, a bright light blinded them all and they knew no more.

* * *

Naruto jolted from his seat. Wait, that was wrong. He shouldn't be sitting. He was in combat! Quickly looking around, he saw Itachi was beside him, looking around with the same expression he was wearing. Tsuyoshi, Neji and Shikamaru, who were sitting in front of the two, were in a similar state. Naruto looked up and felt his eyes pop out of their sockets. What the heck…

"And Team Ten has been selected by Hokage-sama to be the beta for a new type of team due to the uneven number of Shinobi graduating this year, which will consist of five Genin instead of the usual three and two Jounin sensei. Team Ten will be Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka-Uchiha Itachi, Hatake-Senju Tsuyoshi, Hyuuga-Inuzuka Neji and Nara-Kurama Shikamaru," Umino Iruka stated from behind his desk.

The five geniuses were in shock, so much so that they could only form one coherent thought, _'What the freaking hell?!'_


	2. Chapter 2

**There and Back Again**

 **Disclaimer: Mangabear does not own Naruto.**

* * *

 _Chapter 1: **A Vow to Protect That Which was Lost**_

* * *

Naruto found himself gaping at Iruka as the rest of the room went crazy. "Iruka-sensei!" one kid, a civilian, shouted. "Why do those five get to be on a team together! They're geniuses! Not only that, they HATE each other!"

Itachi barely suppressed a flinch. He remembered that. He was sure now. This was the past. He stayed silent, deciding to see what the others would do.

Iruka sighed as he looked up at the civilian Shinobi. "Yuki, I am not the one who makes the teams. That is done by the Yondaime himself, alongside the Jounin sensei. As I said, there was an uneven number of Shinobi graduating this year. It was this or no one would have graduated," Iruka sighed.

Itachi quickly went through a series of hand gestures as discretely as possible to Naruto, telling him to go with the flow. Naruto got the message, thankfully. He stood up and slammed his hands angrily on his desk and shouted, "Come on, Iruka-sensei! That's a load of crap! We both know that Chichiue takes _your_ recommendations into account! You're just as much to blame for sticking me on a team with the stick in the mud Uchiha and the Hyuuga with a stick up his ass as he is!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND SIT DOWN, NARUTO!" Iruka shouted, activating his **'Big Head'** for emphasis.

Neji turned to glare at Naruto. "What did you say, you blonde man whore?" he hissed.

"What did you call me?!"

"ENOUGH!" Iruka shouted again. Tsuyoshi was confused for a bit until he understood himself. He began laughing, remembering how amusing this memory was when he looked back on it.

"This has been a very good joke, Iruka-sensei!" Tsuyoshi cackled. "Now, tell us the truth!"

"That was the truth," Iruka said blandly.

"Come on, Iruka-sensei! You don't obviously expect someone as awesome as me to work with these losers and Naruto!" Tsuyoshi exclaimed.

"That's exactly what I expect."

Tsuyoshi's eyes widened. "B… But Iruka-sensei!" he protested. "You remember last time me and Naruto were forced to work together?!"

"I am well aware, Tsuyoshi," Iruka said blandly. "Sadly, _that_ wasn't my call."

"Troublesome," was Shikamaru's intelligent reply.

"Thank you for summing that up, Shikamaru," Iruka sighed. "Now, if there's nothing else, you are dismissed. Your Jounin sensei will be arriving after lunch."

The five geniuses looked at each other and scowled deeply. This was wrong. They all knew it. Naruto's hand flew through several signals that stated, _The roof. NOW._

As quickly as they could without causing suspicion, the five quickly showed up at a small enclave between air conditioner units on the roof. They sat down in a circle, facing each other when Tsuyoshi calmly decided to address the elephant in the room, so to speak.

"WHAT IN WORLD JUST HAPPENED BACK THERE?!" Okay… maybe not so calmly.

"It would appear that the seal Kurama had Naruto make was a type of space-time seal and has sent us through time," Itachi summarized.

Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome. The Fourth Shinobi War was bad enough. Now we've gotta go through puberty again!" he complained.

"What are we going to do about this?" Neji asked. "We certainly can't just go up to Hokage-sama and say, 'Hey, we're from the future and guess what? It's shit!'"

"No, we can't," Naruto agreed. "But we certainly can't let Madara have his way like he did – or will have – in the future."

"But how will we do it?" Tsuyoshi pressed.

"I'm not sure…" Naruto began. "But whatever we do, we will need to exercise caution. Too many changes to the timeline and we might end up fucking the future up more than it already was."

"Yeah! We might end up making a future run by chain-smoking intelligent monkeys wielding jutsu and eating kaviar!" Tsuyoshi exclaimed. His four friends looked at him oddly.

"No more late night horror movies for you," Neji said hardly.

"And if you ever say such nonsense again, I'll make sure you _never again_ see another Icha Icha book. _**EVER AGAIN,"**_ Naruto added coldly.

Tsuyoshi paled and backpedaled away from the two quickly. The other four laughed at his reaction but were alerted to another presence near them when a small and timid voice called out, "Aniue? Aniue, where are you?"

They tensed and Naruto quickly made a gesture that told them to scramble. They all vanished quickly and Naruto moved out from the enclave. He saw Natsumi standing near the roof entrance, rubbing her eyes cutely. He was momentarily taken back at her younger appearance but mentally shook off the shock and walked up to his now nine year old sister. "Natsumi? What are you doing here? How'd you find me?" he asked.

The small redhead looked to him and smiled widely. "Aniue!" she shouted as she ran over and hugged his legs. "I had a bad dream! And Hahaue wasn't around! I was scared so I came to find you!"

He smiled down at her. "You know Hahaue's gonna be pissed you left the compound without her, right?"

"But I had a bad dream!" she whined, like it was the greatest excuse in the world.

"Hahaue's not gonna see it like that," Naruto told her when another voice rang out, which scared him more than he'd like to admit.

"NATSUMI! NATSUMI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, NATSUMI?!" Naruto had to stop a shudder at his mother's voice. The last time he saw her…

Kushina appeared in front of him before he could even finish the thought. Seeing her alive and well was painful but it also brought unbridled joy. Her vibrant red hair flowed down her back like a waterfall of crimson. Her violet colored eyes shined with kindness, mirth and at the moment, (unnecessary) panic. She her standard Jounin vest over her red body suit and her hitai ate on her forehead. She looked over at the siblings and let out a sigh of relief.

"Natsumi! What have I told you about leaving the compound like that?" the wife of the Yondaime asked sternly, her eyes narrowed angrily. Well, no one ever said Kushina was a patient person.

Natsumi cowered behind Naruto. "I'm sorry," she said timidly. She was always scared of her mother when she was mad. "B-But I had a bad dream a-and I couldn't find you! S-So went to find Aniue!"

Kushina looked to Naruto and smiled. "Thank you, Naruto," she said gratefully, as she picked up Natsumi, much to the girl's protests.

Naruto smiled at his mother. "It was no problem at all, Hahaue. Hey, at least she wasn't bugging Chichiue again," he said.

Kushina chuckled. "Yeah. Minato pulled his hair out last time she suddenly popped into his office without his noticing." She turned and smiled lovingly at her daughter. "She's a true Uzumaki. And will be an amazing Sensor in the future!"

She turned back to Naruto and smiled at him. "Do you know who's on your team yet, Naruto?" she asked eagerly.

Naruto pretended to grimace. "Yeah! It's Tsuyoshi, the prick, Itachi, Neji and Shikamaru. I mean, what the hell… Ow!" he shouted, as Kushina hit him on the head.

"Language, young man!"

"Sorry. But what's the deal with a five man team?! And with THOSE guys?!"

"You shouldn't question your father's methods, Naruto."

"But why?!"

"That's for your father to know and your Jounin sensei to find out. Now, I'm going to get Natsumi back home. I'll see you later, sochi. I love you!"

"Love you too, Hahaue!" he shouted back as she disappeared. He frowned when he was finally alone. Memories of his mother's death flooded through him before he ruthlessly stomped them down.

He needed to plan.

* * *

During the Third Shinobi War, Konoha was in a state of financial distress. To offset this, many clans married other clans in an effort to reduce the amount of money that the village gave to clans for staying in the village. It wasn't a whole lot but it helped. Not to mention, it cut a lot of the other costs of running their clans in half.

But Shikamaru had once thought that the whole concept was exceptionally troublesome. But as he walked into the Nara-Kurama Compound, he understood another, perhaps unknown reason the clans had for marrying into each other. Protection. His mind flashed back when the Akatsuki attacked Konoha and Hidan and Kakuzu attacked his clan compound. He remembered every gruesome detail of the fight. He remembered thinking that, without the Kurama Clan to help ward off the two immortals, he had estimated that the Nara Clan would have had a twenty percent chance of surviving. LESS, if he hadn't been present to use his more… lethal shadow jutsu on the scythe wielder of the criminal organization.

He didn't dwell on those depressing thoughts. The most important factor was that he was back. Now, he could prevent that horrific battle from happening.

"Shikamaru?" his mother called out, startling him out of his thoughts. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't be at the Academy waiting for your Jounin sensei?"

Shikamaru turned around and had to stop himself from cringing. Seeing his mother awake, healthy and _responsive,_ as a pleasant (and shocking) surprise. Luckily, he was able to cover his shock with a well placed yawn. "We were told we had enough time for lunch so I thought I'd come home and get a bite," he replied smoothly. Not to mention, he really missed his mother's meals.

She gave him a warm, inviting smile. "Well, you're just in luck. I just happened to have made your favorite dish," she said. She knelt down to meet his eyes and put a finger to her lips. "But don't tell your father. I promised I'd make his but he broke his promise of showing up on time. It'll be our little secret, right?"

Shikamaru smiled widely. If there was one thing he liked about his mother, it was that she was more than willing to work around the infamous Nara laziness. There were times she would threaten them with a frying pan if they didn't stop being lazy but she was more for enticing them with something. Like a game of shogi or something she knew would grab their attention. And she always made time for Shikamaru. If he wanted to play Go or shogi with her, she'd drop what she was doing and they'd start playing. If he wanted to just go cloud watching, she would volunteer to join him.

Yes, Shikamaru loved his mother. She wasn't troublesome… unlike that Yoshino woman that his father had been seeing before his mother. "Sure thing," he said with a smile.

* * *

Itachi Shunshin'd into his younger brother's room to find him asleep. He sighed tiredly. It was hard to think that his cute and foolish little brother would someday become a monster. Just like Fugaku, the the Uchiha Clan Head until he went rogue during the end of the war. Mikoto was left the clan and ended up marrying Inoichi, who had helped her cope when he found her half dead after Fugaku nearly beat her to death. It would seem the Uchiha Curse of Hatred had passed onto Sasuke.

His thoughts went on to the man who, in another life, could have been his father. He had never cared for the man and when he met him, Fugaku was nothing more than a wild animal that needed putting down. He never did seem like the father type.

With a sigh, he left Sasuke's room to check on Ino, Sasuke's twin sister. He smiled. Unlike Sasuke, who always wanted to be a Shinobi for power, Ino wanted to be a Shinobi to be a shield. A protector for those who couldn't defend themselves. He had been saddened that Sakura had changed her so much and vowed that it wouldn't happen here.

He left Sasuke's room when he heard his father's voice. "Itachi? What are you doing home so early?"

Itachi turned and looked at his father. "We had a few minutes before we met our Jounin sensei so I thought I'd check on my siblings," he replied.

Inoichi smiled. "Well, it's good to know you're still the same, even if you're off to be an official Shinobi," he said back, smiling.

"I don't ever want to change who I am so I'll continue doing what it is I'm doing. I like to think that I've got it figured out."

"Well, I hope it never changes for you, my boy," Inoichi said, smiling. "Since you're checking on Ino, I think I'll head back to meet up with Mikoto. She should be getting back from the market soon."

Itachi nodded as his father disappeared. Itachi turned and made his way to Ino's room.

* * *

A broken hitai ate and a mutilated corpse.

That was all that was left of Tsuyoshi's parents when he was searching for them after the Akatsuki attacked. In truth, Tsuyoshi never got over the trauma of seeing his mother's mangled corpse hanging from their home's ceiling.

He had no idea how he'd react to seeing her alive.

His father, Kariudo, the brother of the infamous Hatake Kakashi, was another issue. He never found his corpse. So naturally, he couldn't even give his father a proper grave.

So he decided not to tempt fate just yet and made his way to a very special spot and decided to indulge in his favorite hobby: Peeping on the girls in the hot springs. He giggled perversely as he made his way to the hole in the wall when he saw an older man with white spiky hair squatting in front of the hole, giggling madly. Tsuyoshi's jaw dropped.

"J-Jiraiya-sama!" Christmas had come early!

The Toad Sannin turned around frantically and saw Tsuyoshi staring at him in awe. Jiraiya frowned. "Hey, gaki," he said, "Tone it down. I'm trying to do my research here."

"Don't let me stop you, Jiraiya-sama!" he said in a hushed voice. "It's just that I can't believe that I just met my idol here, of all places!"

Jiraiya smiled widely. "I'm your idol, am I?"

"Yes, sir! Your Icha Icha Paradise is the greatest book ever written!" He sheepishly fidgeted in place and said, "It was always my dream to surpass you, sir. To be a great Shinobi and carry on your legacy and your greatest works!"

Jiraiya's smile grew wider. "Is that so?! Well, come 'ere, gaki! If you intend to live up to the greatness of the mighty Toad Sannin, you must learn first learn the ways of the Super Pervert!" he said grandly, making a pose.

"Hai, Jiraiya-sensei!"

Minutes later, Namikaze-Uzumaki Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, was in his office when he heard loud yelling and screaming coming from the hot springs. He sighed. "Looks like Ero-sensei's back in town."

* * *

Neji was attacked by dogs.

He laughed as he was tackled to the ground by his sister's Ninken and his own partner, Kuroga. "Ok! Ok, calm down, you guys!" Neji laughed as he fought his way back to his feet. He failed and was shamefully pulled back down by one of Hana's Ninken (he still wasn't sure which one).

"Oya, oya, you're mighty popular with my Ninken, Aniue," Hana giggled as she walked over to her fallen brother.

Neji just grunted. "Your Ninken need a bath, imouto," he told her.

"How rude!" she huffed, her bluish white eyes (the Inuzuka genes morphing with the Hyuuga genes) narrowed as she pouted at him.

"Your stare doesn't work on me," Neji deadpanned. She pouted some more.

"You're no fun, _Fated Genius-san,"_ she teased.

Neji frowned. "Imouto, like I told you before, if I believed in fate, I wouldn't play with loaded dice."

Hana gave him a vicious, Inuzuka grin. "Naruto-kun won't be too happy when he finds out that's how you beat him."

"Who said anything about _beating_ Naruto? The bastard's got so much good luck, it wouldn't matter if everyone cheated him, he'd win." Neji should know. He saw Naruto clean out a minor Shinobi Village before.

Hana gave him another smirk and Neji couldn't help but smirk back at her. It was fun to argue with his sister again. All things considered, he was glad he got this chance.

This time, he'd make sure he wasn't the only survivor of the Hyuuga-Inuzuka massacre.


	3. Chapter 3

**There and Back Again**

 **Disclaimer: Mangabear does not own Naruto.**

* * *

 _Chapter 3- **Meeting the team**_

* * *

Naruto frowned as he waited for his team to arrive for team placements.

He had been thinking about their situation. He knew that the five of them would not be able to make the changes needed to fix their future. Despite their genius, they were still only five Genin at the moment… in a post-war world with Danzou trying to restart the war.

Naruto growled at the thought of the old war hawk being alive. In the previous timeline, after Naruto became the Rokudaime Hokage, he had Danzou execute for his crimes against Konoha. The man said he was a patriot but his methods were not those of a loyal Konoha Shinobi.

He wanted nothing more than to skin Danzou personally. The bastard was responsible for almost succeeding in turning his sweet innocent sister into a emotionless weapon. But he knew that he and his friends weren't strong enough right now to do anything.

They needed an adult. They needed someone they could trust. Someone who could make a difference but not draw much attention to themselves.

But who? Naruto racked his brain trying to think of someone they could ask. His dad and mom were out. He had nothing against them but his mother wouldn't be able to think objectively enough to see which action would have the worst reaction.

She and Natsumi were cut from the same cloth. Shoot first, ask questions later.

Minato was definitely out because not only was he super busy ALL the time (despite his secret to defeat paperwork), he might go and try and kill Gaara for dare attempting to touch his daughter.

That was Naruto's job.

In Suna, a young boy about Natsumi's age with dark red hair shivered in fear. Shukaku shivered as well.

Naruto sighed and was about to doze off for a while when Iruka walked in. "Naruto?" Iruka blinked. "What are you doing back? I assumed you were out doing one last prank before you became a Shinobi?"

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. As a matter of fact, he had done that… in the last timeline. He had painted the Hokage Monument in broad daylight in the most hideous orange jumpsuit he could find (which was saying a lot as orange was his favorite color and he believed anything orange could do no wrong). It had taken Iruka, Inu, his mom and dad and seven ANBU Black Ops teams to catch him after that.

His mother thought it was a perfect prank, and gushed at how he got his skills from her side of the family. Minato thought it was amusing since all Naruto had done to his portrait was paint whiskers marks on it and paint the hair red. He rather liked it.

But since returning to the past, Naruto had too much on his mind to pull his most infamous prank. He would not be able to pull off such a task with his mind so jumbled up. So what would have been the trouble of trying?

"Yeah," the blonde Shinobi drawled out, "…I got a lot on my mind right now…"

Iruka looked at him in mock horror. "You? Thinking? A lot on your mind? Minato-sama? Is that you? Coming in the form of your son to test me or something?"

"HEY! I'm not my old man, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted.

Iruka looked even more terrified. "No… It really is Naruto! The end has come!"

"SHUT UP!" The two began laughing. Ever since the day the two met, they had been like brothers and Kushina loved having Iruka over. The two were usually inseparable after school hours.

"So what's up, Naruto?" Iruka asked, going to sort some papers before team placements.

Naruto sighed. "Just… have you ever had that feeling that you've seen something before… but you've never seen it before that moment?"

Iruka blinked, looking up from his papers. "Once or twice, why?"

"I'm having a feeling like that right now." Not a lie but not the truth. "It's an unnerving feeling. Like you know something's about to happen but you don't know if it's good or bad…"

Iruka hummed. "Well, I would say to trust your gut, Naruto," he said. "A Shinobi must always remember his first hunch is usually the best hunch."

Naruto smiled. It wasn't a grand speech like the ones Iruka usually gave but it was still just as great. "Thanks, Iruka-nii."

* * *

Finally, Naruto was reunited with his team. The five were seated in their usual spots looking at Tsuyoshi, who was sporting several goose eggs on his head and a black eye. More people started flooding in so the five switched to their secret code to communicate.

 _"Do I even want to ask?_ " Naruto signed.

 _"I think I just became Jiraiya-sama's apprentice early!_ " Tsuyoshi smirked.

 _"Stop fangirling. It's terrifying."_ Itachi said.

 _"And act like a normal human being."_ Neji snarked.

 _"I get no respect from you guys!"_ Tsuyoshi whined.

 _"Just shut up."_ Shikamaru grumbled. " _Hey, Naruto. I noticed that you had something on your mind when I walked in. Care to share?_ "

Everyone turned their attention to Naruto, who sighed again. _"I was mulling over our situation."_ he said. _"And I don't think the five of us are going to cut it. I think we're going to need to get someone to help us."_

 _"But who?"_ Itachi asked. _"I don't think Shibi-sensei and Gai-sensei are good candidates."_

 _"I was thinking Shika's old man."_ Naruto admitted.

" _Why?_ " Shikamaru asked.

 _"He's the Jounin Commander. And he's the best strategist in Konoha. And mostly, I trust him over all of the other people I was thinking of."_

 _"Why not Minato-sama?"_ Tsuyoshi asked.

 _"Chichiue is too busy to need to be worrying over this."_ Naruto said with finality. _"And since all other Jounin can be monitored by Danzou's Root, I can't think of anyone else."_

They all scowled at Danzou's name. _"What of Ryuu? The ANBU Commander?"_ Itachi asked.

 _"He was my first choice."_ Naruto admitted. _"But you know better than the rest of us, his plans were not the best compared to Shikaku-san's."_

 _"Point taken."_ Itachi said, as more people started piling in.

 _"This is gonna be fun."_ Tsuyoshi said. _"Remember last time we met Shibi-sensei and Gai-sensei? We almost got into a fight!"_

 _"Do we have to do that again?"_ Shikamaru asked.

 _"No. But we'll have to show we hate each other."_ Naruto told the Lazy Genius. _"Otherwise we'll cause many people to become suspicious."_

 _"I suspected as much. So what's going to be our strategy here?"_ Shikamaru asked. _"Act like lunatics in front of our sensei then make our way to my place?"_

 _"Too obvious."_ Tsuyoshi disagreed. " _You'll need to lure him to some place. Somewhere preferably away from anyone who could use our knowledge against us."_

 _"I think Training Ground Fifty-Six should do."_ Neji suggested. _"It's isolated, away from any other training ground in use and best of all, it's nowhere near one of Danzou's bases."_

"Alright, everyone," Iruka announced to the class, "Again, I want to congratulate all of your passing your exams. Today, you start your future careers as Shinobi…"

 _"Training Ground Fifty-Six will have to do."_ Itachi said. _"Can you lead your father there, Shika?"_

Shikamaru sighed. _"Perhaps. I'll say something about it's secluded and quiet and we can have a peaceful game of shogi or something."_ he suggested. _"You guys will be waiting there, right?"_

 _"Where else would we be?"_ Neji asked sarcastically.

"Team Ten?" Shibi's voice broke them of their conversation. He was still the same as when they last saw him. His grey overcoat and hood obscured almost every part of him. He wore dark glasses over his eyes. But as they were battle-hardened Shinobi and had known the man for five years, they could read him very well.

And they could tell he wasn't very enthusiastic about his new job.

But of course, that could because of his new partner… "Yoshi!" Maito Gai shouted loudly. "Team Ten, meet us on the roof in five minutes! Or you will have to run the perimeter of Konoha one hundred times!" Shibi groaned.

"Just meet us on the roof," Shibi said stoically and vanished in a puff of smoke. Gai vanished soon after in a blur.

Team Ten shared a shiver. They remembered the last time they were all arguing and didn't get to the roof until six minutes after. They all just groaned and made their way to the roof.

* * *

"Get out of my way, red eyed freak!"

"Stop punching me, dog breath!"

"I'll stop when you quit sneering at me, ero-baka!"

"Ow! Stop that, you troublesome idiots!"

"SHUT UP, SLACKER!"

Shibi sighed inaudibly. This would be a test of his patience. Minato had told him this team would be difficult. That's why he enlisted Gai to help out the Aburame Patriarch out. But even with the… admittedly… capable Shinobi's help, Shibi didn't think this team would work out.

The five made their way out the door and Shibi could see that they were arguing and only a hair's breadth away from a full on fist fight. Shibi sighed again. Why did he take on this job again?

"Enough of these unyouthful attitudes!" Gai shouted, causing the five to stop and stare at the man like he was crazy.

Well. They got that one right.

"Now, you little Genin are not acting like proper Shinobi!" Gai reprimanded. "A true Konoha Shinobi prizes teamwork! Exemplifies hard work! And most of all, cherishes their Will of Fire!" He looked at them with a glare. "I don't know what you five have against each other but you're a team now! Whatever you have against your fellow man should be left at the door or you are unfit to be a Shinobi!"

The five genin looked ashamed and looked away. But still, their ruse was worth it to hear that lecture again. It was something they had come to live by. Their Nindo. Their Shinobi ways.

Shibi stood silently as the five took seats around them. "Now," Shibi declared. "You are Shinobi under the care of Gai-san and myself." His tone was blank and monotonous. "And until you five reach Chuunin, you will remain as such. For now, let's start with a simple exercise."

"An exercise? Boring!" Tsuyoshi groaned.

"This is very easy," Shibi repeated. "We're going to get to know one another. I want you to go around and tell all of us some things about yourself. Things you like. Things you hate. Dreams for the future."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. "Why don't you two start it off? We already know each other, if only slightly. Since we don't know much about the two of you, I think it would be logical."

Shibi nodded. "Fair observation." Shibi cleared his throat. "I am Aburame Shibi. I like my clan, bugs and long walks with my wife through our garden. I hate those who would judge my clan simply by rumors or appearance, people who discriminate for no reason and I am not fond of Danzou-sama's vision of the village." Who was? "My goal for the future is to watch my son grow into a great Shinobi and succeed me as Clan Head."

"Yoshi!" Gai shouted. "My name is Maito Gai! I like training, challenging my eternal rival Kakashi and of course, my beautiful wife…"

"WAIT WHAT?!" What the hell?! "When'd you get a wife?!" Tsuyoshi shouted.

Gai smiled widely. "I met her on a mission to Taki about a year back. She is a spitfire, I tell you! I'm not surprised you don't know, my youthful student. We only got married three weeks ago. Here! This is a picture of her!" he said gleefully and pulled out a picture of him and his wife. The five looked at the picture in shock.

"S-She looks like Ayame-chan!" Naruto wailed. "NO! NO NO NO!" Now every time he looked at her, he'd see Gai next to her in his horrid green jumpsuit!

"S-She's beautiful!" Tsuyoshi mumbled. How the hell did his weird teacher get such a beauty?!

And why wasn't him, dammit?!

Shikamaru, Itachi and Neji stared at the picture. They were sure Gai didn't have a wife in the last timeline. Which meant…

They had already fucked up.

Well, perhaps not intentionally. But definitely from coming back through time. Just what else have they changed unintentionally?

"Anyway," Gai continued, putting the picture away, "I love my wife. I dislike Kakashi's hip, unyouthful attitude and people who step on other's dreams. My dreams for the future are to train you Genin up to be splendid Shinobi and to hopefully retire and open my own dojo! And spend the rest of my life alongside my darling waifu!"

The Genin looked at him in shock. "Your turn," Shibi said. He pointed at Naruto and said, "You first, Naruto-sama."

Naruto snorted. "I'm Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant ramen in a cup, my clan, especially my darling imouto, training and Ichiraku Ramen! I hate the three minutes it takes to cook instant ramen, idiots who judge someone before they know them and these stuck up assholes." His team glared at him. "My dream is to take the hat from my old man and become the Godaime Hokage!"

"A most youthful goal, my student!" Gai shouted.

Shibi nodded. "Next."

Itachi nodded. "My name is Yamanaka-Uchiha Itachi. I like my clan, pocky and quiet places. I hate loud mouths," Naruto and Tsuyoshi glared at him, "People who threaten my clan and Uchiha Fugaku. My dream is to take over my clan and lead them as fairly as Minato-sama leads the village."

Shibi nodded and pointed to Neji. "My name is Hyuuga-Inuzuka Neji. I like training with my siblings and cousins, my clan and my Ninken. I dislike cats, things that are time consuming and the Hyuuga Elders who want to bring back the Caged Bird Seal." He growled at that. "My dream is to succeed my father as the head of the Inuzuka and lead my clan alongside Hinata-sama, my cousin and the Heiress of the Hyuuga, to prosperity."

"Well, I guess I'm next," Tsuyoshi grinned. "I'm Hatake-Senju Tsuyoshi! I like Jiraiya-sama's books, my clan and my hobby!" he giggled perversely, making both Gai and Shibi groan. Great. Another pervert. "I dislike these baka over here and my dream is to succeed Jiraiya-sama as both the Gama Sennin and the Great Super Pervert!" he proclaimed proudly, falling into Jiraiya's signature stance.

Shibi stared at him blankly. "Alright." He looked to Shikamaru. "Your turn."

Shikamaru sighed. "My name is Nara-Kurama Shikamaru. I like watching clouds, playing shogi, my mother," he smiled at this, "And napping. I dislike complicated things and anything troublesome. My dream for the future is to become an average Shinobi, marry a non-troublesome woman and have two kids. One boy. One girl."

"Why would you want to become an average Shinobi?!" Gai asked, aghast.

Shibi ignored him. "Excellent. You are all unique in your own ways." _'Not a total loss. They do have some things in common.'_ "Now that that's out of the way, I want you to meet Gai-san and myself at Training Ground Ten tomorrow morning at eight sharp for your real initiation test."

The five knew it was coming but they had to act shocked. "What test?" Naruto demanded. "We've already taken the test!"

"But that only shows which students have the capabilities of becoming Shinobi," Gai stated, uncharacteristically serious, shocking the five Shinobi further. "Out of all the Academy graduates, only two thirds won't even become Shinobi."

"The test you will be taking tomorrow will be your true test. I'd advise you to bring your best tomorrow and stock up on Shinobi supplies."

"We will see you later!" Gai shouted as he and Shibi vanished. The five stared at where they were standing.

"…We fucked up," Itachi said.

"How… How dare he… A-Ayame-chan," Naruto spluttered. "She looked just like Ayame-chan!"

"It would seem not everything is how we remember it," Shikamaru muttered. "Just great. That's fucking wonderful."

"We've got our work cut out for us," Neji agreed.

"Forget that!" Tsuyoshi snarled. "Focus on what's important…" He ran up to the edge of the roof and shouted, "Like HOW THE DAMN HELL GAI-SENSEI GOT A WIFE AS HOT AS THAT?!"

* * *

Shikamaru was walking alongside his father as the two headed to Training Ground Fifty-Six. He had come up with a halfway believable story and his father bought it. Now they were walking towards the training ground.

"Are you going to tell me just what you're up to, Shika?" Shikaku asked.

Shikamaru sighed. He knew his dad would find out eventually as they walked. "You'll know as soon as we reach the training ground, Otou-san," he said.

Shikaku was even more curious now. Just what was his son hiding? They reached the training ground and he noticed that Minato's son was talking to Inoichi's boy, Shizune's son and Tsume's and Hizashi's son. Now he was really curious. These boys were known to hate each other.

"Here he is," Shikamaru said, gaining their attention.

"'Bout time," Tsuyoshi grunted. "You take a detour or something?"

"No, I was sampling my mother's cooking," Shikamaru replied. "She's the best cook in the whole village."

"I challenge that!" Naruto growled.

"We all know my mother's cooking's the best," Neji countered.

"Enough," Itachi said, silencing them. "We're not here to argue. We're here to ask for Shikaku-san's help."

The Jounin Commander raised an eyebrow at them. "What would you five need my help with? And why are you all acting so friendly? I'm missing something here."

"What do you make of this?" Naruto laid out the scroll and sent them to the past. Shikaku raised an eyebrow but otherwise went over and examined the scroll. He hummed at the seal.

"Intricate," he noted. "What does it do?"

"Sends the user back in time," Naruto said.

"Be serious, kid."

"Who says I'm not?"

Shikaku looked into Naruto's eyes and was shocked to see there was no deception in them. He looked around and noticed all the kids had the same expression, even his son. "What's going on?"

"This seal sends people back through time," Naruto said again. "We know because… it did it with us."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. "You really think you've done the impossible, don't you."

"It's true," Shikamaru said. "And to prove it… Okaa-san has pictures of you in a sexy Kunoichi's uniform that she keeps under your bed for blackmail on you."

Shikaku spluttered and flushed red as Naruto and the others laughed loudly. "H-How do you know that?!" he demanded. That was in a locked safe under Genjutsu!

"Okaa-san showed me," Shikamaru explained sadly. "J… Just after you died." Shikaku looked at his son in shock. "We were up all night talking about you. She pulled out the safe and showed me all of those embarrassing photos."

Shikaku looked at the assembled group in shock. "This is… You're telling the truth?"

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir. And we've come asking your help because…" He took a deep breath. "We know that we alone can't stop what we want to prevent. The future is fucked beyond repair…"

Naruto then began explaining to Shikaku what had happened. The Jounin was in shock as the story continued, becoming more and more unbelievable. It almost seemed like a horror movie gone wrong.

Unbeknownst to the group, someone else was listening in. Kushina had made her way to Training Ground Fifty-Six for some training when she saw her son and the others. Her curiosity peaked when Shikaku showed up so she cast a Genjutsu to make her invisible and sneaked over to listen to the conversation.

She was shocked to hear her son - her precious son - had apparently time traveled! With four kids he couldn't stand! But looking at them now, she saw they were getting along now. She listened to the whole story before she Shunshin'd home, locking herself in hers and Minato's room.

She was breathing heavily. She continued to hear Naruto's explanation of the future. Was it really that bad? The future? Tears ran down her face when she saw Naruto's face when he described… when he described her death. It hurt. God, it HURT!

She looked up to her nightstand and saw a picture of her and Naruto, happily playing on a playground. Her eyes narrowed as she wiped her eyes. She couldn't break down now.

She had just learned her son had traveled back in time and intended to change it for the better. She couldn't let him do it alone.

She would do what she could to help him. No matter the cost.


End file.
